


Degravity Degravity

by BackwaterOtter



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series), Gravity Falls
Genre: AU, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bill Cipher is a Jerk, Camp Degravity, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Degravity Degravity AU, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Mr. Honeynuts - Freeform, Sadly, Teen!Dipper, dadvid, dadvid mention sometimes, max is short, only the adults get to be shipped lol, post-camp camp, teen!Mabel, teen!Pacifica, there's a bunch of OCs too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-05 10:09:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13385592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BackwaterOtter/pseuds/BackwaterOtter
Summary: Camp Campbell is dead. Well, metaphorically. In reality, it's closed, and the licenses and deeds for it, as well as it's earnings, handed off to some other money-grabbing man. Max had quickly picked up on some differences, however.This man appeared to care.This camp appeared... Appropriate.Nothing appeared off.At least, nothing about the camp.





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
> 
> So, those who had seen my tumblr post on this, I'm really happy that you liked the idea, and I'm hoping you're reading this right now. aaaa I feel like I should say more but I really don't know what else to add.

         The rumble of the old white bus was the only sound he could hear. It was the only thing he could focus on unless he suddenly chose to be interested in the drab exterior. Not in a million years, no. He shifted ever so slightly, running a hand through his hair, groaning.

 

**48 minutes.**

 

He had requested to be given some form of entertainment for the ride up, it was about an hour, after all. But no, ‘You need to work on identifying the beauty of things without some silly distraction!’

 

“Well, David, I don’t see how you fucking expected me to stay sane staring at _trees_ for an hour.” He had argued.  
  
“The same way I do, I take the time to think.” David responded with, giving a smug grin to go with it. And damn David, there was no way to respond to that without looking like a fucking idiot. He tried, however, and ultimately lost the argument, grumbling to himself about how he absolutely didn’t want to go, and how David _should_ have known this after last summer, and took a moment to pause and let himself shed a spare few tears in his room.  
  
And David, sappy as shit, as always, had come in his room- without knocking, for that matter- and asked that stupid question he asked him every week, ‘Are you ok?’  
  
Playing at his weaknesses, of course, the only way to get him out of ‘hoodietown’ and into ‘okay-I’ll-talk-but-I’ll-be-super-frustrating-ville’. In a matter of minutes, it was resolved. The boy hated David’s reasoning, but it was better than that of last summer. The sappy shit cared, and that’s all he needed to calm down. Didn’t mean he wanted to go, still, but there really wasn’t any arguing at that point.  
  
So, he’d been taken on a thirty-minute drive to the designated station for the bus, waiting with David. And then, the bus had arrived, colored white with dual blue stripes. Between the stripes sat two words, “Camp Degravity.”  
  
He had climbed on, taking a moment to look over the driver. To his surprise, it wasn’t the hook-handed quarter-master he had half expected- in reality, it was a dirty blond female, who didn’t look like they did this shit because there was a shack somewhere nearby that had sexually pleasing benefits, but more because they liked it.  
  
He squinted at them, making his way to the back of the bus with his bag, and slumping down in the seat, hoping to fall asleep, and ultimately failing.

 

**43 minutes.**

 

“So, what’s your name, kid?” The girl spoke up in a kind tone.  
  
He narrowed his eyes, sitting up ever so slightly, hoping to catch her reflection in the mirror all buses seemed to have, so the driver may observe the riders. Her face seemed fairly focused on driving-- but nearly as bored as he was. He considered his options, before finally responding, “Max, you?”  
  
“Melody Ramírez, pleasure to meet you.” She smiled softly, though remained focused on the road. At least he had the certainty that she was allowed to legally drive the bus, if her focus was anything to go by. “Ever been up to Gravity Falls before?”

 

“Consider that only anyone who already fucking lives there knows of that place for a moment- I couldn’t even find it on a fucking map.” He shrugged.  
  
“Well, that would likely explain your mood- You’ll enjoy it up there, your soon-to-be counselors had before there even was a camp, after all.” Melody chuckled, “Even though I don’t know as much about their experience, what I’ve heard from a friend of theirs.”  
  
“Well, I also heard that the funds for it originated from the fucking hellhole that was Camp Campbell, so the bar is set low.” He grumbled, “Why the fuck do you want to know, anyways?”  
  
“Well, I was just curious is all.” She mumbled, shrugging. She began to hum a song he didn’t know.

 

**38 minutes.**

 

“There’s a stop coming up in about 5 minutes, you might have someone to talk to soon,” Melody spoke up suddenly, interrupting the tune Max had become distracted by, and he glanced away from the outside.  
  
“Yeah, yeah, what the fuck do I care?” He grumbled, his mildly pleasant mood spoiled. “They’ll probably be loud and obnoxious, like…” He paused, before going silent. Melody resumed her humming.

 

**33 minutes.**

 

The bus stopped slowed to a stop, and Max glanced up, avoiding letting Melody see him peeking out of the bus. He glanced out the window, groaning as the child was obscured by a woman with green hair.  
  
...wait a moment.  
  
He avoided looking excited, he didn’t want to hear any shit from ‘Melody’ after all, though he peeked over the top of the seat. Melody was discussing something with the woman while the child boarded, her gaze averted from the mirror, and Max stood up, softly smiling as she approached. She’d changed little, wearing a single ponytail, contrary to her pigtails, and she’d hit a growth spurt.  
  
“Thank god, I don’t have to spend the whole summer with a bunch of weirdos I don’t know-- now it’s you and a bunch of fucking weirdos I-” He was briskly interrupted by the screaming of his name, a pitch higher than expected.  
  
“MAX! Holy crap you’re going to the camp too!?” She exclaimed, hopping on top of the backing to the seat ahead of him, her shoes, worn and dirty, likely her new favorite pair, right at his eye level.  
  
“Of course I am, David and all…” He shrugged, “I can ask you the same thing- why the hell are you here?” He grumbled, genuinely curious.  
  
“Weeeell, my mom was really hoping to see Neil’s dad again- Wait, is Neil on the bus too?” She spoke quickly, not even allowing him to respond, “Oh wait, he probably would’ve said something by now and stuff. Anyways, how have you been?”  
  
Max took a moment to reorient himself, giving himself time to think, before he responded. “Better than last year, David’s been homeschooling me and teaching me stuff- and don’t say any shit like ‘see, David’s good for you’ or something because I am not hearing that from you.”  
  
“You still have Mr. Hone-” Nikki gave him a shit eating grin as she was cut off.  
  
“Oh my god Nikki shut the fuck up. I do not want to hear that right now or for the rest of the summer.” He glared daggers at her, fiddling with the strings of his hoodie.  
  
“Anyways, have you even heard of ‘Gravity Falls’ before? ‘Cause I sure haven’t and it sounds mighty suspicious.” She slid off the top of the seat, sitting down next to him as the door to the bus closed. She glanced out the window, waving ‘bye’ to her mother, before looking at Max again, and pausing. “...oh my god you’re fucking shorter than me.”  
  
“SHUT THE FUCK UP NIKKI!” He basically screamed face flushed red. He glanced at the front, crossing his arms as he saw Melody grinning at him.  
  
“I thought you hadn’t wanted to talk to anyone, Max.” Melody spoke up, and he groaned, pulling the hood of his hoodie over his head and drawing the strings as he gave a frustrated scream, and the bus began to move.

 

**18 minutes.**

 

Nikki and Max’s conversation has continued at the 25-minute mark, though he was rather frustrated with her the whole time. They’d entered the town at some point, Max hadn’t noticed, but Nikki sure had, as the maple, cottonwood and redwood trees had lessened as pine and spruce trees took the space between them.  
  
The sign had been barely noticeable, more like that of an advertisement than anything else, reading ‘Welcome to Gravity Falls, Oregon’ in white letters, with a background of what they were pretty sure a part of a postcard from Canada.

 

**1 minute.**

 

The bus had driven through town and past a building with a sign that read ‘Mystery _hack’, on an old road, passing a sign that read ‘Camp Degravity’, and stopping.  
  
“Hey, at least there’s a town in walking distance, hell yeah.” Max had mumbled, quickly getting up. He glanced to Nikki, who was in the middle of a power-nap and groaned. He poked her side, and she jerked awake with a little giggle, and he was mildly surprised, before poking her again, “Nikki wake the fuck up we’re here.”  
  
“Bus has arrived, kiddos!” Melody called out, waiting in her seat.  
  
Nikki had begrudgingly gotten up, and Max lead the way off the bus, seeing as she looked like a damn zombie.  
  
“Have fun you two!” Melody smiled sweetly as the two left before the door closed behind them. The bus promptly drove off.

  
To Max’s surprise, the place… actually looked inviting. He narrowed his eyes, the bullshit-o-meter reaching an all-time high, before he sighed and headed into camp with Nikki.  
  
“Why the hell is there so much glitter, though?” He took a glance to Nikki, groaning as she admired the forest that surrounded the overly sparkling camp. Dammit Nikki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope all of you enjoyed! I'm an amateur writer, I only have one other fic under my belt, (and I haven't even submitted it here, haha) , so please, please, PLEASE leave suggestions on better ways of doing certain things, and I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!!!
> 
> Take a glance at my tumblr if you'd like to! https://changeling-goats.tumblr.com


	2. Possible Impossibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nikki bites things, Neil appears, and the author does a thing at the end.

“You know Nikki, this place looks way too normal.” He’d pointed out as they walked down the path to the camp. Nikki hadn’t contributed to the conversation, unless everbearing silence counted, and he’d stuck his hands in his pockets, taking a glance around. “I think we may be the first to arrive, that’s probably why.” He’d spoken up after a moment, stopping in the center of the camp. Benches surrounded a little garden, and he chose to sit down.

“Hm? Oh, no. I think we’re last- I smell _people_.” She mumbled after a moment, glancing around and dropping into her signature bloodhound pose. She suddenly tensed up, eyes trained on a cabin to their left. “There!” She exclaimed, eagerly making a beeline to the cabin. Max sighed, standing up once more and following after her. He paused at the doors to the cabin he’d been lead to, Nikki sitting down on the ground next to it like a dog would, searching for a sign. Finding none, he shrugged, opening the door.

He was, almost immediately, filled with regret. As he opened the door, some small person resembling a gnome jumped at him, knocking him down. “Holy shi-” he’d half shouted, though he was cut off. Of course he hadn’t expected something like this. He made a split-second decision, and dragged his hands to his face to grab at the thing, throwing it as far away from himself as he could while laying down. He faintly heard a little ‘nyeh’ before it scurried off, though he focused on the sky above him. “I would like to immediately take back my fucking comment on this place being normal.” He grumbled.

Nikki approached him, her head blocking his view of the sky. In the background, he heard someone call out in panic “Holy- are you okay!?” and he audibly groaned. He pushed Nikki’s head back, ignoring her little yelp as he sat up, watching as an older male (Teen? Adult? The mans little short beard was throwing him off for certain), with brown hair wearing an orange shirt and an old white and blue hat that had a blue pine tree on the front, approached him.

Max took a moment to study the boy, frowning, “What’s it to you?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at the man.

“Well, ah, I’m one of the camp counselors! Dipper’s the name, being mildly safe is my game!” He paused, “Sorry about the gnome, just trying to do their monthly proposal to my sister…” He chuckled nervously. He froze up at the sound of a window breaking, and another female shouting ‘And stay out!’.

“That would be her. . .” He grumbled, crouching down and offering Max his hand, “You must be… Max, right?” He asked.

“... Yeah, how’d you know?” Max asked, eyes still narrowed as he begrudgingly took Dipper hand.

“I guessed that much, since you’re one of the last two here, and you’d have to be _pretty_ unlucky to be a boy named ‘Nikki’.” He chuckled, pulling the smaller child up.

“Says the guy named ‘Di-’.” Max had begun to retort, before being cut off by Nikki. He glared at her as she spoke, “So… Gnomes like the mystical magical creature that can move through solid earth and stuff? About the same height as Max here?” She smiled, setting an arm on his shoulder. Max quickly pushed her off, flipping her the bird.

“Basically, yeah.” Dipper smiled to her, “You must be Nikki.”

“Yep! Wait- gimme your hand!” She grinned to him devilishly, and when Dipper glanced to Max, he could see his smirk clearly. She caught onto his hesitation, frowning, “C’mon, I don’t bite.”

“I… somehow doubt that. Anyways, I gotta get everyone set to go... Er, you two really should come inside. You’re kinda late and all, so you missed our little briefing and the welcomes and such, but it isn’t too much.” Dipper ceased crouching turning to open the door.

The moment that followed is too horrifying for any reader to bear. However, let it be known that Nikki thoroughly established her dominance using Dipper’s leg rather than hand, and many windows were broken at the pitch of the older boys scream.

Luckily, Mabel was there to pry the two apart, holding Nikki an arms length away. “So, you must be Nikki.” She smiled sweetly to her, unicorn t-sweater sparkling in the dim sunlight.

“Yep! You must be Mabel! Since you’re kinda tall- and you look… a lot like our other counselor. Weird…” Nikki narrowed her eyes at Mabel.

=< **0** >=

In the meanwhile, Max had gone on ahead, glancing around the little room the short hallway lead into. He was unsurprised to find tables, at which sat a variety of people, though what interested him the most was a certain brown haired nerd, delving into a book at his own table.

Max quietly approached from behind, patting his friend on the shoulder, and watching, with a little smile, as his friend absolutely panicked.

“What the fuck was that for Ma… Max- Holy shit, Max! You’re here too!?” Neil gave a wide smile down at his friend.

“Yep.” Max responded nonchalantly, getting into the seat.

“And you haven’t changed a b-“ Neil had begun, before his book was promptly stolen from him and forced in his face.

“Don’t you dare say any shit like that.” Max whispered to his older friend, smiling approvingly as he recieved a little nod. He lowered the book, setting it on the table. “Nikki’s here too.”

“Thank god, now I don’t have to spend my time up in the middle of nowhere with people I don’t know! Although, where _is_ Nikki?” Neil reopened his book to the proper page.

“In the foyer place thing. She asserted her dominance with Dipper- wonder why his parents decided to name him _that_.” Max grumbled.

“Actually, his name is Mason, he just goes by ‘Dipper’ because of his birthmark, which bears resemblance to the Little Dipper constellation.” Neil corrected, beginning to read once more.

“He looks a _lot_ like the other counselor.” Max pointed out, trying to think of some other topic to talk over with Neil.

“Yeah, ‘cause they’re twins.” Neil mumbled, earning an ‘oh’ from Max in response.

The silence between the two that followed was rather unbearable for Max, and he anxiously watched the doorway.

Eventually, after a good five minutes, Nikki came through, followed by Dipper and Mabel. The green haired child made her way to their table, sitting across from the two. “So, what’d we miss, being so late and all.”

“Not much- Dipper had said we’re going on a tour of the town and explained a bunch of stuff we could and couldn’t do. They’re pretty lax, actually.” Neil said quietly, setting down his book and smiling to Nikki, “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Same to you, nerd.” Nikki responded.

“So, are we actually allowed to go into town?” Max asked after a moment.

“Yeah, pretty cool, huh?” Neil chuckled, “Gotta let them know first and stuff, but it’s better than last year... Oh, and guess what!”

“What?” Both Nikki and Max asked, mildly curious.

“They’ve got _actually updated_ places here! So it’s not like the town back at camp, where we might as well have been living in the 70s, but it feels like we’re in the right time for once!” Neil nearly squealed.

“So… There’s an up-to-date computer store.” Max deadpanned.

“Yep!” Neil stated, before glancing towards the back of the room as Dipper spoke up.

“Okay everyone! Since everyone who had been listed to join this camp is here, I believe we should start our little tour of the town! Feel free to leave your bags here, you can move them to your cabins later!” He’d said, doing his best to ignore the pain in his right leg.

Max set down his bags, glancing between Neil and Nikki, before the group of three got up, ready to go. Dipper had a brief talk on safety, though none of the three were really listening, before they finally set off.

=< **0** >=

It was dusk when they returned, and they were fairly exhausted from the walk.

The trip to town was fairly interesting. The whole place was rather abnormal, especially the places they were told to avoid. It was a fairly short list, but still raised curiosity. Any place that had ‘Gleeful’ in its name was to be avoided, as with anywhere that looked unstable, as covered in their safety talk. The most curious addition was the mini golf park, not like the trio wanted to play mini golf anyways.

Eventually, they’d returned to the camp, gathering their things, and receiving their assigned cabins. Neil, Max, Nikki and another girl by the name of ‘Jeena’ had received their own.

The cabins themselves were rather bland, but comfy. There were bunk beds prepared for everyone, and little trunks for their belongings.

Max stuffed his in its place, glancing to Neil. “I get top bunk.” He stated. His friend sighed and nodded, before Max headed off to take a shower.

=< **0** >=

Dinner was an actually edible meal, much to Max’s surprise. Alogside this, the other campers were rather pleasant, talking amongst eachother, and very few made a mess of the mess hall. 

Following this, they were briefed on the next mornings events, such as choosing which counselor they’d be doing events with, and an icebreaker event.

Then, they were sent to bed, Dipper taking a seat on the bench in the middle of the camp, and keeping watch, just in case.

Oddly enough, the trio, and their plus one, were obedient. Each made their way to bed rather quickly. Sleep came just as quickly for them all, exhausted after the days worth of walking.

Max dreamt of home, and the family he was granted.

Neil dreamt of discovery, and what he could discover

Nikki dreamt of adventure, and what there was to do there.

 

Jeena dreamt of demons, an oddity of the bunch.

=< **0** >=

 **Psrk eks xlic hmh hifexi**  
**Xli gsrwiuyirgiw xlex qec eaemx**  
**Jsspmwlpc xlic mkrsvih xli syxgsqi**  
**Erh wssr qec jmrh xlex alex xlic amwlih eaec fi xlimv wyq.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;3
> 
> 1/21/2018 - 9:03 PM
> 
> CHAPTER UPDATED
> 
> 1/22/2018 - 9:04 AM
> 
> Minor update to this chapter because hhhhhhhhhhhh i messed up a thing
> 
> > Changed Ava's named to Jeena  
> > Switched two name around in the last two actual sentences
> 
> 10:51 PM
> 
> > Fixed some spelling/grammatical errors.


	3. [Insert Fitting Title Here]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something about groups and stuff.

Max had actually completed a full night’s sleep for once, to his surprise. He’d expected to have awoken at midnight, or at two in the morning, or hell, 5 minutes after he’d closed his eyes. But he hadn’t.   
  
He hadn’t expected pleasant dreams, either. Nightmares were something he had frequents back at Camp Campbell, and occasionally at home prior and after that summer.    
  
It was rather jarring, not waking up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat, but to the sound of, rather outdated and annoying, musical tune over a loudspeaker. He felt comfortable in the little bed of his, allowing himself to groan when it was shaken ever so slightly. His friend was awake, he deduced after a moment, affirmed by the prompt yawn from the bed below.    
  
He groaned, opening his eyes, waiting a moment before speaking up. “Don’t fucking touch me, I’m awake.” He grumbled, Neil’s hand just a few inches away from him, prepared to wake up his friend.    
  
“Sorry, I guess?” Neil shrugged, “I don’t think they have coffee, we could see if they have any in town after this morning’s events and stuff.” Neil paused, turning to Nikki’s bunk. He observed the two for a moment, deducing that both Nikki and Jeena were still resting. He shook his head, grabbing a pillow and going to smack Nikki in the face with it.   
  
To his utter surprise, Nikki looked up and  _ growled  _ at him, grabbing the pillow with her hands, before biting into it with her teeth.   
  
“ _ Nikki! _ That’s my pillow!” He exclaimed after registering everything, furrowing his eyebrows in annoyance. Jeena gave a little groan, beginning to wake up as an effect of all the noise over such a small situation.   
  
“Yeah, and?” Nikki asked, cocking her head and giving Neil a mischievous smile.   
  
“I need it to sleep, Nikki!” He half shouted, glancing to Max for support. He received none, as Max slipped into his hoodie. It was recently bought, it seemed, lacking the wear and tear of the one he wore just the day before. Neil noticed, but chose to continue bickering with Nikki. At some point, Neil had begun to chase Nikki about the room, the latter having stolen something that belonged to their male friend.   
  
Max stood up, choosing to exit before anything was mentioned to him about his attire. Jeena had headed into the side room to get dressed moments before and followed Max towards the mess hall, silent as hell. He couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or relieved at this. He decided after a moment that it was more annoying than anything else, eventually stopping and glaring back at the younger child. “Stop following me you little shit.” He grumbled.   
  
The child whimpered, “But I gotta go to the mess hall, and it’s that way…” She mumbled, before shaking her head and walking ahead of him. She entered the mess hall silently, fiddling with her fingers.

 

Max squinted at Jeena, before continuing to the mess hall, waiting for Nikki and Neil at the table they’d taken the previous day. He observed the other children strewn about the room, of variance in basically everything. Jeena had sat down with one group, speaking quietly with her group of friends about some event that occured.   
  
Gossip, he concluded.   
  
Neil and Nikki soon entered, both looking fairly disheveled, though mildly presentable. Neil sat down on Max’s left, Nikki on his right.    
  
After a moment, Melody re-entered with a cart, trays of food sitting upon it, labeled with names. “Breakfast is ready- Make sure you kiddos pick the one with your name on it, made it with the preferences we were informed of by your parents!” The lady smiled warmly, “Some of them were made with special recipes and everything.” She sat down with a little list, watching them get up and approaching the cart, following her instructions. She waved to Max, who narrowed his eyes at her in response.   
  
Nikki and Neil went to retrieve their food, and Max eventually followed their example, glaring at Melody all the while.   
  
His plate consisted of banana-nut pancakes, eggs scrambled with pepper and goat cheese mixed in at some point in the process, porridge, and his favorite, black coffee. He narrowed his eyes at the plate, attempting to ignore the comforting smell of home cooked food, and the familiarity of his own favorite breakfast dish. He roughly turned away from her, grumbling something along the lines of ‘thanks’ to himself, before sitting back down at the table.

 

Neil and Nikki followed, the pair chuckling ever so slightly at Max’s behavior, before beginning to eat.

 

“What do you think the groups are gonna be based upon?” Neil asked after a moment, mouth half-filled with a quarter of a croissant.

 

“Probably by nerds and the cool kids!” Nikki exclaimed teasingly. 

 

Neil stuck his tongue out at her, acknowledging the validity of what she had said. “Maybe, what do you think, Max?”

 

“Meh.” The indian boy grumbled, shrugging his shoulders, continuing to eat. He disguised his happiness well, his friends not picking up on it as breakfast continued.

 

=< **O** >=

  
  


“You really think today’s activity will turn out well, Mabel?” Dipper warily asked, looking through the sparkly pink notebook his sister had handed him.

 

“Of course bro-bro! Besides, the brown haired kid- Neil I think- seemed pretty skeptical about the weirdness that goes on around here. Will be fun teaching it all to him, maybe get him to stop rationalizing the gnome incident and all.” She chuckled.

 

“Yeah...” He mumbled, shrugging, “Nikki should be fun- Assuming she sticks with you. Full of energy, like you were when we were kids.” He chuckled, visibly relaxing.    
  
Waddles had wandered in, giving a little snort as he settled down next to Mabel. She gently pet the growing pig, chuckling and smiling as he gently nudged her hand to his back. Her pig gave a happy little oink.   
  
Mabel let herself multi-task, reaching to the desk to take out a chart, laying it in her lap while she pet her pig, and working on re-organizing. “Melody would fit in either group, I believe, as with Elizabeth and Hark- I think Luis would be sticking with your for the studying portion, as with Bree and Mia, and Oliver- Neil of course…” She paused, adjusting the little pieces before continuing. “Oooh! That leaves me with Brody, Atlas, Ariel, Zoey and Deja…” She paused once more, adjust to go with what she said, before cocking her head, “Any idea of where Max may choose? I don’t know which group he’d prepare.” She asked after a moment.   
  
Dipper looked up, mildly surprised before shrugging, “He’s cynicism reincarnated into a child, for all we know, he’s plotting to burn the place down.”   
  
Mabel gasped, failing to pick up on the sarcasm, “We’ll have to cancel all campfires, then!” Dipper gave an audible sigh, before she finally relaxed, beginning to pick up on his sarcasm. “Well, I’ll group him with Melody, Elizabeth, Hark and Luis. We’ll find out soon enough.”   
  
“Yeah.” Dipper agreed, flipping through the pages of the photocopied journals. “We should go get breakfast and set up the area.” He concluded after a moment of silence, getting up and making his way to the backdoor. “You head over while I grab Gompers, ai’ght?” He glanced back at Mabel, who gave a merry nod, picking up Waddles.   
  
“Don’t let him chew on your hat again- I’m not repairing it this time.” She warned teasingly, heading out the front door with her favorite pig. 

 

Dipper chuckled, quickly finding Gompers. The goat had gotten tougher over the years, and it’s horn was slowly beginning to grow back. He brought the goat out front. From there, he put a saddlebag on it- after ensuring Gompers would be on with that, of course, and put the photocopied journals in each bag.

 

Both of them satisfied, they made their way to the mess hall, where Melody awaited him outside with a plate, Mabel sitting on the steps out front, Waddles sat down beside her, eating from a bowl.

 

Dipper merrily took the plate, smiling as he spoke, “Thanks for breakfast, Melody.” 

 

“It’s nothing for my favorite twins.” She teasingly stole his hat and ruffled his hair, earning a little playful shove from him. “Good luck in there.” She said after a moment of giggling, setting his hat back on his head.

 

“Thanks.” He finished his fit of awkward giggles, before adding, “Oh, and tell Soos that we said hi.” 

 

“You two should come visit him some time, you know.” She shrugged, smiling nonetheless.

 

“We will, we will! Gotta get this place in order first. Maybe on Sunday, ok?” He received a pat on the shoulder and a stern nod in response- Soon enough, they both erupted in a fit of laughs. Mabel joined in momentarily, before Melody eventually left with happy ‘goodbye’s and ‘see you at dinner’s.

 

He sat next to Mabel, sitting and eating, each in their own silence. After a moment, Mabel lightly punched him in the shoulder, earning a disapproving ‘Ow!’ from her brother. 

 

“What was that for!?” He grumbled loudly, mostly from being startled like that.

 

“You need to get yourself a girl, at some point.” She stuck her tongue out at him, before chuckling. “And you need to stop being so nervous, I can hear it in your laugh. Today is gonna go fine, ai’ght bro bro?” 

 

He chuckled, not having expected his sister to pick up on such a tiny detail of his laugh. “Al-right, Mabel.” He sighed after a moment, earning a pat on the back.

 

They finished eating, discussing their plans between mouthfuls. Finally, they headed into the mess hall.

 

=< **O** >=

 

It’s not like he  _ forgot _ that some of them were younger than he was- there were enough teens in the room to deal with that. At least, he assumed such.

 

Dipper was absolutely wrong, however. The previously clean mess hall now stood up to its name. At some point during their morning, some kid had initiated a food fight, to Dipper’s dismay. He sighed, making a mental note to pay the janitor extra.

 

Sadly for him, the food fight was still active, a point made by the scrambled eggs that nailed him in the face. He took a deep breath, attempting to stay calm, though Mabel took initiative.

 

“Everyone stop!” She shouted, the whole room going silent and staring at her. She smiled, “Now that we’ve got your attention, got a few events lined up today for you all.” She said, face calm, though mixed with a look of ‘cross me, I dare you’.

 

“We’ll be doing the first one in here, since it’s rather short.” She smiled to Dipper, who grinned back, ensuring Gompers was by his side. Waddles was eating up some floor-eggs, rather happily. Fee paid attention to the pig, but those who did were rather amazed, some not having a pig up close before. “You may direct your attention to my brother, now.” She glanced back to Dipper, and he nodded.

 

Most kids returned to silently eating whatever was left on their plates, listening to the slightly shorter Pines twin.

 

“To those who are unaware, this camp is here to train you all for the unexpected, the magical, or the weird things in life. However, we keep it firmly in mind that people learn different way- either through study or hands on learning.” He paused, looked around, and continued, “Due to this, we’re splitting the camp in two- hands on learning with Mabel, and her mascot Waddles the pig- which, may I note, has been a family pet for 7 years, you are not allowed to eat him- or studying it all with me, Dipper, and my mascot, Gompers the goat- who we’ve known for equally as long.” He took a glance around, “Once everyone is finished eating, they may approach the counselor of their preference.” He concluded with a smile. Mabel had grabbed two chairs while he spoke, letting him sit down. Gompers and Waddles approached their respective counselors, as trained, and sitting down next to them.

 

=< **O** >=

 

Max found both options rather pointless- although, that was his main thought about the camp as a whole.

 

He already knew the trio was likely to split up, Neil liked his science, after all, and Nikki would never last in a stuffy lab all day. Max had gone rather silent during Dipper’s monologue, tugging on the strings of his hoodie as he considered his options. Ultimately, he decided to stick with Nikki, he’d be out and about in that case. Alongside this, he was rather interested in the hands on learning that was mentioned, though he wouldn’t admit it aloud.   
  
Eventually, a chart was put up on the wall, with magnetic names, and three sections. Each section was labeled in glittery letters, “HANDS-ON”, “STUDY” and “UNDECIDED” respectively.    
  
Nikki and Neil had been discussing across the table, getting up, alongside most others, to move their names to their preferred category. Max watched it go- mostly as Mabel expected, it appeared. He’d seen the chart prior to the names being set in the center, having caught a glimpse during the food fight- he remaining among the undecided, with majority of the others in a specific area. Shrugging, he let himself stay there, while the others who were in the undecided group chose a position.   
  
Mabel glanced over to him, a curious look in her eyes. He shrugged, and she shrugged in response, petting Waddles, who gave a happy oink. Nikki had eagerly approached Mabel, beginning an excited conversation about the forest, while Neil received a copied book from Dipper, alongside the others in the group. Max continued his observations, before Dipper spoke up.

  
“Have any preferences for a group, Max, Melody? Gotta sort you in one, after all.” He mumbled, motioning to the both of them, and receiving a shrug in response. Sighing, Dipper nodded, “How about you two try both of them, this week you’ll go hands-on, and next week you’ll come and study and such. Sounds good?” Dipper offered after a moment, he received a tiny nod from Melody, and a shrug from Max. Concluding this to be a yes, he motioned to Mabel, “We’ll be starting in a few minutes, if everyone’s decided.” He stated, rather happily, it seemed. The twins stood up, heading outside to talk something over.    
  
Nikki eagerly waved to Max, eager to head out- He could see her excitement plastered on her face. He eventually moved to sit down next to her, despite his annoyance triggered by her long rambles about the outdoors. It was, somewhat, comforting to hear her again, after the whole school year and such.    
  
After a moment, Max glanced to Neil, scouring through the little book he’d been given, rather flabbergasted by the sheer lack of scientific evidence of anything in there. He scowled, flipping through the pages for something that might actually be real- like the dwarves. He’d seen them, yes, and there was no reason they couldn’t exist, save for their rather odd body proportions. Even then, many animals shared odd body proportions. He furrowed his eyebrow, continuing his little book-excavation. Max suppressed a chuckle at his friends aggravation.   
  
Eventually, Dipper and Mabel returned, Dipper being the first to speak up as they entered, “Group up everyone! About time for us to split up and head out!” He called. Max watched in mild amusement as the others listened to him rather well. Probably because of Mabel.   
  
After a moment, he followed suit. Melody was just behind him, it appeared. They headed out of the lunch cabin, and, as expected, split up. Dipper headed to the larger cabin from earlier with his group, while Mabel lead the way to the edge of the woods. A box sat there, filled with assorted items that Max just couldn’t make out yet.   
  
“Alright, everyone! I’ve got some supplies in that box of mine right over there! Grappling hooks, some magical wards and helmet’s.” She paused, glancing the box over, “Disregard the helmet’s, Dipper just wanted them to be included. Something about legal matters. The pink, rainbow stuff is unicorn hair- We’ll be meeting up with the unicorn I got it from next week. Just put it somewhere where it’ll stay secure, alright?” She had begun to ramble about something, and he let himself tune her out for a moment.   
  
Max shrugged, hanging back while the others glanced into the box of assorted items. He was rather surprised when Nikki pulled out a grappling hook, but remained silent. Melody had put a helmet on herself, though most of the others held a complete disregard for the safety things. He avoided taking any of it, tuning back in on Mabel for a short moment- she’d been talking about her plans for a class on how to use a grappling hook properly, and how it had saved her and her brothers life once when they were 12.    
  
Eventually, she rounded them up, and motioned to the forest. “We’ll be hunting Cowl’s today!” She said eagerly, before quickly interrupting anyone who may have had a question, “They’re basically owls mixed with cows, and their eggs have milk inside. Any other questions?”    
  
“Do they have talons- Ooh, and are we collecting the eggs! I want to take one home!” Nikki called out from the back, giving an excited glance to Max.   
  
“Yes and yes!” Mabel responded merrily, before turning to the woods. “Now let’s get moving, we don’t have all day!” She called, beginning to lead the way.   
  
The group, and Max, followed out of pure interest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAA
> 
> Ok this took a bit longer to type than I expected, theatre getting in the way of everything hhhhhh.
> 
> I got some doodles and stuff up on my TUMBLR(tm)  
> Link, here:https://changeling-goats.tumblr.com/search/degravity+degravity
> 
> As always, please tell me about any errors or awkward wordings


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